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The Year of the Gorilla

Silverback mountain gorilla

In case you didn’t know already, 2009 has been declared the Year of the Gorilla

After chimpanzees and bonobos, gorillas are our closest living relatives. They’re highly intelligent, charismatic – and severely threatened.

There are four sub-species of gorilla living in 10 African countries. Three of them are officially “critically endangered”, including the rarest of all, the Cross River gorilla, of which there are only around 300 left.

The fourth species, the eastern lowland gorilla, is listed as “endangered”, although numbers are uncertain as researchers can’t access large parts of its habitat.

The iconic mountain gorilla, which WWF specifically campaigns to protect, is down to only 700 individuals.

Even the most widespread, the western lowland gorilla (which goes by the triumphant Latin name ‘Gorilla gorilla gorilla’) only numbers around 100,000. There were ten times as many before the horrific ebola virus wiped out large populations.

Gorillas are most at risk from hunting (for meat, medicinal or trophy purposes), disease and habitat loss due to agriculture, logging and road building.

Why are we celebrating gorillas?

Mountain gorillas

As well as being important in their own right, gorillas have a big influence on their environment. Like chimpanzees and elephants, they play a fundamental role in the widespread seed dispersal of several plant species whose fruit they consume.

In forests where poaching has drastically reduced gorilla populations, several large fruit trees, which depend on gorillas for their dispersal and germination, have become very rare.

Gorilla conservation programs not only work to protect the gorillas themselves but also help protect thousands of other species of animals and plants found in the gorillas’ habitats.

The aims of Year of the Gorilla include:

  • promoting cultural attitudes that are conducive to the conservation of gorillas and other great apes – for instance taboos on hunting them and sustainable approaches to resource use
  • training forest workers and helping them realise the importance of sustainable livelihoods
  • providing alternatives to poaching, logging and mining
  • improving the monitoring of protected areas by bolstering technical capacities, like the use of camera traps and remote sensing equipment
  • encouraging more anti-poaching campaigns by providing information and equipment as well as training
  • supporting rangers in their activities
  • promoting the concept that sustainable development must be compatible with gorilla survival across the species range, even outside of protected areas
  • encouraging co-operation between zoo-based and field-based conservation bodies as well as wildlife rangers and forest managers to improve species preservation
  • telling the wider public all about gorillas and the threats they face

What is WWF doing?

We’ve been championing the cause of gorillas since we were founded in 1961, and our work involves all four gorilla sub-species.

Our projects focus on: 

  • improving the effectiveness of protected areas
  • stopping the illegal trade in gorilla products
  • increasing local and international support for gorilla conservation

You can...

How you can help

Mountain gorilla

Gorilla news

The Year of the Gorilla is an initiative of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), Convention on Migratory Species (CMS), the UNEP/UNESCO Great Ape Survival Partnership (GRASP) and the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA).